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Thursday, 19 November 2015

Travel Diaries: Brussels' Best Museums

During my short stay in Brussels, Belgium, I managed to visit quite a few museums! On a rainy day, museums are a great way to spend some time exploring a foreign city. Today I thought I'd run you through my favourite museums in Brussels, and these are all within walking distance of Grand Place!

While I might not be the biggest comic strip lover, I definitely did appreciate this museum. The exhibition is quite large, so give yourself at least 2 hours to walk through it and really take everything in. You could easily spend hours and hours reading all of the displayed comics!

The Museum of Costume and Lace really took me by surprise! I quite enjoyed walking through the exhibition of elegant dresses and learning about different fabrics. Pictured below is a beautiful modern crinoline piece by Olivier Theyskens.

The MIM was a really cool, interactive museum. Upon entry, everyone is given a pair of headphones. Throughout the museum, there are marked spots where you can stand and hear the music of the displayed instrument. I thought that this was a genius way to allow visitors to really learn about the instruments, without bothering other guests! Pictured below is my favourite instrument in the museum, a harpsichord made by Joannes Couchet from Antwerp in 1646.

If you have any interest at all in Manneken Pis, then you need to stop by this museum. On the second floor, there are 100 Manneken Pis statues, all wearing different costumes! Each month the costumes are rotated, because this little guy actually has a wardrobe of over 800 costumes! Dylan and I had a good laugh walking through this exhibition - it was definitely the most unique museum I've ever been in! We also watched a short film all about Manneken Pis, and his history in Brussels.

If you have a sweet tooth like myself, then Choco Story is a must-do! First, you'll walk through the small museum, learning about the history of chocolate, and sampling chocolates along the way! Next, you'll see a live demonstration, and learn even more about chocolate. There will be more tastings (there was even a vegan chocolate offering!), and I'm sure you'll leave a happy camper!

Dylan and I had a lot of fun walking through this museum, learning about different characters, comics, etc. There are a lot of photo ops, so you will definitely come away with a few hilarious pictures. This museum would be great for kids, but adults will love it too (we sure did!).

And these were just a few of the many museums in Brussels! I absolutely loved that these were all within walking distance of each other, meaning that you don't have to spend time or money on transportation! I'm normally not a huge museum-goer, but I'm glad that I checked out these museums on a rainy day in Brussels.